FOLLOW US
H. Chung: Address to Summit 2022, Session V
Written by Mr. Chung, Hee-Taek, President, Segye Ilbo daily newspaper, Korea
Friday, August 12, 2022
Address to Summit 2022 and Leadership Conference,
Seoul, Korea, August 11-15, 2022
Good afternoon, everyone. I am Chung Hee-Taek, President of Segye Ilbo. Greetings to all of you. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the ascension of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, so we are having this conference and we welcome all of you who are participating in this conference.
We are going to talk about the importance of religious freedom in this special session. Religious freedom is very important. I am very, very happy to have an in-depth discussion about this freedom. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon for allowing us to have this discussion. And also, my thanks go to all those who gave us congratulatory remarks and keynote addresses and those who are participating in this conference online.
In this special session, we’re going to talk about a universal value, religious freedom. Religious freedom is being suppressed around the world. We are going to talk about the crisis of religious freedom.
We should raise awareness about this situation. We should reassert the right of human rights. In 1948 the United Nations declared and adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Regardless of our nationality, we have universal values and ethical values. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that all people have rights as to thoughts and religion. We have freedom of religion and thought. These are basic, fundamental rights that define humanity, that is human rights. Therefore, most countries, including the Republic of Korea, inscribe this in their Constitution. Article 20 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea says that all people have religious freedom and the right to practice any religion.
All of us know that religious freedom is the right to practice the religion that we subscribe to. We have the right to preach, spread the gospel, assemble and organize ourselves as religious people. But there are countries where religious freedom is being suppressed around the globe. In countries like North Korea where there’s no peace, there’s no religious freedom. But also in China, in the region of Xinjiang, the silent minority groups are subjected to forced labor. We are hearing reports on that.
Those who practice Islam are being oppressed by the Myanmar government, even though they are entitled to religious freedom in the Constitution. Even in India there is a conflict between Hindus and Muslims. The International Catholic Charity Organization has conducted a survey of 196 countries. According to the report, in 2021, 67% of the entire population of the world, 5.2 billion people, are being oppressed in terms of religion. Even in Japan, religious freedom is being suppressed and we are witnessing this. Religious freedom there is guaranteed by the Constitution. Even in democracies, people are being oppressed and threatened just because they practice a certain religion. This should not be condoned.
The Segye Ilbo and The Washington Times were established by Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. They have asserted the universal values of coexistence and mutual prosperity and they stress the role of the media. In 2020 we held a meeting of the International Media Association for Peace (IMAP), with more than 500 people participating, to foster freedom of religion, freedom of media. The attendees made a resolution to foster the freedom of media. Freedom of media is based on the freedom to express thoughts. Freedom of expression is our principle. A moral media, that’s the value we are striving for.
In the same way, religious freedom should be our basic human right. Through the special address and the keynote address, we’re going to be reminded of the importance of religious freedom, which is a human right. The Segye Ilbo will do its part to promote that value and principle.
Once again, my deepest congratulations and thanks to the keynote speakers and those who make congratulatory remarks and those who are participating in this conference online. I wish all of you happiness and health. Thank you very much.
To go to the World Summit 2022 Schedule page, click here.